Tag: dssdubai

So a few week’s ago my husband started lecturing me on how we need to de-clutter our lives of all the extra stuff at home and get rid of most of the things we are not consuming in the last six months. I listened with open ears but when I thought of parting from all that stuff I had acquired and collected from the past six years of our marriage it made me uneasy. I mean I know I’m not using those colorful notebooks I bought 5 years ago cause they looked cute and pretty, and those crafting items I bought just cause they look so adorable organized in my drawer, and yes I love my collection of stationary even if I’m not using it. I mean what if my daughter needs it when she starts university. ( she is 4 years old at the moment ) I can’t let go of those pots and pans and serving platters just incase we decide to throw a big party and than I won’t be prepared. ( Kya pata zuroorat par jaayay ) I definitely can’t let go of my old shirts just cause I don’t fit in them anymore. I mean I have promised myself to lose weight for the 100th time and what if I just end up doing it this year. I’m a Desi, I have inherited the need to accumulate stuff over the years and letting go of it somehow feels letting go of my identity. Doesn’t it seem we Desi’s are somehow preparing for some kind of apocalypse over our lifetime collecting as much crap as we can in our homes. Ok so I’ll leave the whole chat about de-cluttering for another post but the verdict being that I agreed with him. I listened solemnly with interest and raved and chanted the next few days on how we need to have less stuff. I agreed and I made a promise and than……………………………………..DSS ( Dubai Summer Surprises ) happened.

I had promised myself I wont’ go to the mall and won’t let myself get tempted into buying anything cause we have all we need. So happens that my little munchkins at home drove me crazy on a regular mommy day and I had to get away to get a break AND I happened to step into a mall. Hey wait No I did not come for shopping. My intention was just to have coffee and leave. The minute I entered something just felt so right and suddenly all those lectures my husband had given me erased from my memory like someone just hit the ‘delete’ button. Gushes of cold wind blew across my face and a smile emerged on my face. I was not the ‘me’ I am at home. I am a human being 🙂 Like cinderella I could feel myself transform into this stylish fashion icon wearing every single thing I could see in the windows from the far distance. My untidy messed up hair were suddenly short and blowdried with streaks of ombre. My ‘maasi’ get over in which I had reached the mall in a frustrated annoyed state of mind felt being transformed into this awesome ‘look’ which made me seem nothing less than “Scarlett Johnson’ in my head. Visions of the “mommy me” at home disappeared in a poof. And than I saw the “75% Off!” signs and somehow it seemed like shopping will make me richer. As if walking out of this mall I’ll have 75% more than what I had when I walked in. You know there’s something about buying discounted stuff. Doesn’t it give you an adrenaline rush? I started by visiting the kids stores and started buying some tops for my daughter. Justification being “She’s growing up so fast she needs a bigger size for sure”. Found some lovely tops at Mothercare and The Children’s place. Shirts, skirts, slippers I got whatever looked like a good deal. I also found some amazing T shirts for my little boy at Okaidi . I moved on from one store to another and got myself two pairs of shoes within minutes. I than happened to wander into the Levis store which was having a wonderful 40% off sale. You have to check it out! I got myself two pairs of denims too. So here I was with my hands full and hurting by now holding all those shopping bags. But Boy did I feel good! As excited as a 3 year old is after buying a toy I could not stop smiling. ( You can imagine me now peeking from behind the shopping bags like a kid with a new toy )

When I reached home parked my car and walked towards my apartment my husband’s lecture started coming back to me like a long forgotten song that echoes back when you visit a familiar place. “Its all coming back to me now” by Celine Dion started playing in the background. I looked at the massive shopping bags I was carrying and said a ‘O ooo” just like my son does when he spills something on the floor. Here I was doing just the opposite of ‘de-cluttering’. “It’s not my fault” I thought. Its the sales ! They drove me nuts and so did the kids . If they hadn’t gotten me so angry I wouldn’t have gone to the mall. What’s done is done and no point crying over spilt milk so I rushed upstairs to my home and hid all the stuff in the closet giving it a hard push as there was hardly any space left in it to stuff anything. It seemed like something inside was gonna blow up very soon. Hours passed and the evening sun set. My husband came home from work and walked to our room to change. By now I had forgotten the morning shopping episode and a ‘happy version of me’ was dancing and welcoming him. (With my lovely ‘mommy memory’ remembering anything is a task these days ) He opened the closet door and here fell on his face all these tons of shopping bags I had hidden away. Oooooooops! I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what he looked like after that happened. The next few hours there was silence in the home.

My advise to you ? Do go shopping cause there are some awesome deals out there in malls right now. Be careful not to hide it in your husband’s closet by mistake ( Like I did ). If by chance you do end up buying a lot of stuff make sure you go on a ‘de-clutterring’ mission next week to please your man. That’s exactly what I’m going to do. If you are depressed, sad or feeling crazy please do not waste your money on a psychologist. Just go shopping !! It’s an inexpensive way to fix part of your crazy brain. While you go and shop let me go ahead and get rid of some of the old stuff lying in my home before my Mr. throws me out along with it.